Draught-excluding devices for doors



Jan. 21, 1964 J L 3,118,193

DRAUGHT-EXCLUDING DEVICES FOR DOORS I Filed April 17, 1962 INVENTOR:

JOHA NNES flKSLA ND.

United States Patent 3,118,193 DRAUGHT-EXCLUDING DEVL'CES FSR DSQRS Johannes -l slwd, Ryland, near Flore, Norway Filed Apr. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 188,165 2 Claims. (Cl. 2ll'67) This invention relates to draught-excluding devices for doors and is concerned with devices of the type wherein a dnaught-excluding strip is rotatably-mounted on bearings about an axis at the bottom of the door for movement between an operative position whereat the strip bears against the floor with the door shut and an inoperative position whereat the strip is spaced from the floor and is located beneath the bottom face of the door when the latter is open, and wherein the strip is also axially displaceable and operatively connected to a spring-loaded control mechanism which resiliently urges the strip axially thereof and towards the inoperative position, the arrangement being such that the strip is moved from the inoperative to the operative position due to a part of the strip, or a part connected thereto, impinging against a stop on or at the frame of the door, thereby axially displacing the strip.

With devices of this type, as little as possible should be visible when it is mounted in position on the door, so as to avoid spoiling the shape and appearance of the door. This is especially important when the device is to be mounted on a door in a home.

Previously known central mechanisms for draughtexcluding devices have been rather clumsy and complicated, so that it has been difiicult to satisfy the abovementioned requirements. In order to conceal the control mechanism from view to the greatest possible extent, it has been proposed to mount the control mechanism and the other par-ts of the device within the door in a cavity with a downwardly-directed opening, so that the appearance of the side faces of the door is not spoiled to any extent. This construction makes the mounting of such devices complicated and expensive. It is, therefore, not sufficient just to provide a cavity in the bottom of the door, but a reinforcement must also be furnished for the bottom edge of the door so as to prevent pieces thereof from being broken off during use. If one originally produces a door with a suitable cavity, the construction can be kept within reasonable economic limits, but if the conventional door has already been completed and one then wishes to provide :a cavity, the work involved would be too extensive and costly.

An object of the present invention is to provide a draught-excluding device incorporating a control mechanism having a small, compact construction which need not be concealed within a cavity in the door, being substantially out of sight when the device is mounted in position on the door.

According to the present invention there is provided a draught-excluding device of the type referred to wherein the operative connection between the control mechanism and the draught-excluding strip comprises a link slidable upon a cam surface of guide means arranged coaxially of the axis of rotation of the strip.

Conveniently, the guide means, bearings for th draught-excluding strip and the spring of the control mechanism are aligned substantially axially of the strip.

in order that the invention may be more clearly understood, a convenient embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompan 'ing drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a bottom view of the draught-excluding device and its control mechanism fixed to the door and in the inoperative position, and

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the device illustrated in ddldd ii 2 FIGURE 1, in which the operative position is shown in dotted lines.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the lower part of a door it is mounted by a hinge 11 on a frame 123 at end 313 of the door. Between the bottom face idof the door and the floor is a gap since the usual door sill is not provided. The gap 16 is arranged to be closed by a draughtexcluding strip 17 when the door is shut and to be open when the door is open. The manner in which this is brought about will be explained later in the description.

The s.'rip 17 comprises a thin-walled plastic moulding 13 which is clamped between the jaws of a metal rail 19 of substantially U-section. The jaws of the rail are fastened to the plastic moulding 18 by means of nails 29. The rail 19 houses a cylindrical rod 21 behind its jaws, which extends longitudinally thereof. The rail is fixed to the rod 21 by means of nails 22. The plastic moulding, the rail 19 and the rod 21 have a length which corresponds substmtiully to the length of the bottom face 14 of the door. The rod 21 is rotatably mounted in cylindrical end bearings 23 and 24 which are situated axially of the strip and are received in suitable openings 25, 26. The openings 25 (see FZGURE 1) has a length in the axial direction of the rod 21, such that it ena les the strip 17 to be displaced a distance corresponding to a distance to which the strip projects beyond the end 13 of the door. In the opening 26 there is space sutficient for movement of the bearing 24%- relative to the strip and for the reception of a compression spring 27 which bears against rail abutment 39 and bearing 24 and urges the strip to the position shown in FIGURE 1.

A closed guide $101128 cut out of the wall of the bearing 24 is inclined to the longitudinal axis of the rod 21, one end of the slot being concealed from view by the jaws of the rail 1?. A 29, secured at its inner end to the rod Zl and at its outer end to the rail w between the jaws thereof, is slidably engaged in the slot and together therewith constitutes a cam central mechanism.

The bearings 23, 24 are secured at flanges 31, by means of screws 36, to lugs 32 projecting from a back plate 33. The back plate 33 is secured by screws not shown to the bottom face 1 of the door so that the longitudinal edges 35, as of the back plate are disposed inside the doors bottom side edges 37, 38 respectively.

When the strip 17 is mounted in place in the back plate 33 during production, the spring 27 ensures that the strip projects some distance beyond the bacx plate 33 at one of its ends, from which position the strip can be rotated below the back plate. The distance which the strip projects beyond the back plate 33 corresponds substantially to the axial or effective length of the slot 23. On mounting the back plate on the bottom of the door, the plate is simply placed against the bottom face of the door and fixed to it by means of screws. In this way, the strip and the control mechanism are secured together, as a unit, to the door without any special fastening means. During mounting of the back plate care is taken so that the projecting portion of the strip, which corresponds to the axial length of the slot 23, projects beyond the end 13 of the door.

When the door is shut by being swung from the position shown in FIGURE 1, in the direction of the arrow 4%, the outwardly-projecting end of the strip impinges substantially axially against a stop pin 41 fixed to the frame 12. During shutting of the door, the strip is displaced axially against the force of the spring relatively to the back plate and the bearing 24. Simultaneously, the pin 29 is displaced in the slot 23 whereby the strip is forcibly swung from the inoperative position to the operative position as shown in dotted lines in FlGURE 2. In the operative position the strip is squeezed against the fioor at its bottom edge and is arranged to bear tightly against the opposing door frame of the door, thereby closing the gap at the entire bottom of the door. When the door is opened again, the spring automatically causes the strip to reassume its original position by swinging it upwards from the floor. Consequently, dragging of the strip across the floor during opening and shutting the door, is avoided. 1

When the door is open, the strip and the back plate are raised slightly towards the bottom face of the door and will be scarcely visible even at a short distance from the door. in order to further hide from View the strip and the control mechanism, the longitudinal edges 35, 36 of the back plate are curved outwardly and downwardly around the strip when it is in the inoperative position (see FIGURE 2).

The embodiment of the invention described above has the advantage that the closing strip and the control mechanism can be easily mounted in position on the door. Furthermore, the control mechanism has a construction which is both simple and reliable.

What I claim is:

l. A draft-excluding member for the lower edge of a door which is hingedly mounted on a frame, said member comprising a rail, bearings supporting said rail for rotation at the lower edge of the door and a weather-striphaving a longitudinal edge secured to said rail, said weather-strip being adapted to be swung from a substantially horizontal position in which said strip is inoperatively arranged along the bottom edge of the door, to an operative position in which said strip spans a gap defined by the bottom edge of the door and a floor, said draftexcluding member further comprising an axially displaceable elongated member and a spring in said rail, said spring urging said elongated member in an axial direction and a cam-control mechanism, said elongated member on opening of the door being urged by said spring outwardly beyond the side edge of the door and on closing of the door the elongated member abutting the frame of the door so as to be urged axially against the force of the spring, while said cam-control mechanism causes rotary movement of said rail, said elongated member and said rail being secured together for joint rotation and axial displacement in said bearings, one of said bearings having a cam surface which constitutes a part of said cam-control mechanism while said elongated member and said rail include means cooperating with said cam surface and constituting the remainder of said cam-control mechanism, the cam control surface extending longitudinally of the axis of the rail while being inclined relative thereto.

2. A draft-excluding member for the lower edge of a door which is hingedly mounted on a frame, said member comprising a rail, bearings supporting said rail for ro tation at the lower edge of the door and a weather-strip having a longitudinal edge secured to said rail, said weather-strip being adapted to be swung from a substantially horizontal position in which said strip is inoperatively arranged along the bottom edge of the door, to an operative position in which said strip spans a gap defined by the bottom edge of the door and a floor, said draftexcluding member further comprising an axially displaceable elongated member in said rail, a spring urging said elongated member in an axial direction and a cam-control mechanism, said elongated member on opening of the door being urged by said spring outwardly beyond the side edge of the door and on closing of the door the elongated member abutting the frame of the door so as to be urged axially against the force of the spring, While said cam-control mechanism causes rotary movement of said rail, said elongated member and said ra-il being secured together for joint rotation and axial displacement in said bearings, a fastening plate secured directly to the bottom edge of the door, said bearings being fixed to said fastening plate, said fastening plate, bearings, elongated member, rail and weather-strip forming a compact unit, a rail abutment in line with said bearings, said spring being located between one of the bearings and said rail abutment, said one bearing having a cam surface which constitutes a part of said cam-control mechanism while said elongated member and said rail include means cooperating with said cam surface and constituting the remainder of said cam-control mechanism, the cam-control surface extending longitudinally of the axis of the rail while being inclined relative thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,446,507 Kennard Feb. 27, 1923 2,565,393 Oswald Aug. 21, 1951 2,602,973 Watson et al. July 15, 1952 

1. A DRAFT-EXCLUDING MEMBER FOR THE LOWER EDGE OF A DOOR WHICH IS HINGEDLY MOUNTED ON A FRAME, SAID MEMBER COMPRISING A RAIL, BEARINGS SUPPORTING SAID RAIL FOR ROTATION AT THE LOWER EDGE OF THE DOOR AND A WEATHER-STRIP HAVING A LONGITUDINAL EDGE SECURED TO SAID RAIL, SAID WEATHER-STRIP BEING ADAPTED TO BE SWUNG FROM A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION IN WHICH SAID STRIP IS INOPERATIVELY ARRANGED ALONG THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE DOOR, TO AN OPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH SAID STRIP SPANS A GAP DEFINED BY THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE DOOR AND A FLOOR, SAID DRAFTEXCLUDING MEMBER FURTHER COMPRISING AN AXIALLY DISPLACEABLE ELONGATED MEMBER AND A SPRING IN SAID RAIL, SAID SPRING URGING SAID ELONGATED MEMBER IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION AND A CAM-CONTROL MECHANISM, SAID ELONGATED MEMBER ON OPENING OF THE DOOR BEING URGED BY SAID SPRING OUTWARDLY BEYOND THE SIDE EDGE OF THE DOOR AND ON CLOSING OF THE DOOR THE ELONGATED MEMBER ABUTTING THE FRAME OF THE DOOR SO AS TO BE URGED AXIALLY AGAINST THE FORCE OF THE SPRING, WHILE SAID CAM-CONTROL MECHANISM CAUSES ROTARY MOVEMENT OF SAID RAIL, SAID ELONGATED MEMBER AND SAID RAIL BEING SECURED TOGETHER FOR JOINT ROTATION AND AXIAL DISPLACEMENT IN SAID BEARINGS, ONE OF SAID BEARINGS HAVING A CAM SURFACE WHICH CONSTITUTES A PART OF SAID CAM-CONTROL MECHANISM WHILE SAID ELONGATED MEMBER AND SAID RAIL INCLUDE MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID CAM SURFACE AND CONSTITUTING THE REMAINDER OF SAID CAM-CONTROL MECHANISM, THE CAM CONTROL SURFACE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE AXIS OF THE RAIL WHILE BEING INCLINED RELATIVE THERETO. 